Each year our students in grades 3-8 are required to take the Terra Nova Tests. These are norm-referenced standardized achievement tests that are required of all Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Omaha. I have reported these results to our teachers and staff, our School Advisory Council, and our Home & School Association. Now I am reporting them to you.

Please keep in mind that these test results are only one measure of how we are doing academically. Teachers are constantly assessing their students either formally or informally. They give classroom tests and short quizzes. They assign projects and book reports. They question students everyday in their classes. All of this is to assess what students know and to determine what needs to be taught and/or reinforced. As parents, the best way for you to determine how your child is doing in school is to sit down with his or her teacher and have a conversation about your child.

However, everyone wants to know how our students measure up against other students, and this is what the Terra Nova Tests do. They give us percentile ranks which can be converted into grade equivalency scores and grade level averages. And, there is a benefit to them. They do give us a nice snapshot on how we are doing overall in Reading, Language, Math, Science, and Social Studies compared to other schools and students. This is good to know because we can chart overall progress as a school. But please remember it is only a snapshot.